Time-burning railway signal-fusee.



I. NIDITGH. TIME BURNING RAILWAY SIGNAL PUSEE.

APPIQIOATIOR IILEi) JULY 22, 19 12 Bhtgntgd July 22 ionizer; STATE PATENT enrich.

ISADORE NIDITCH, OF DORCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 CENTRAL RAIL- JVAY SIGNAL COMPANY; OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

TIME-BURN IN G RAILWAY SIGN AIEFUSEE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Pa'tcntcdJ nly 22, 1913.

Application filed July 22, 1912. Serial No. 710,852.

To cZZ whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, IsAooRE Nmrroii, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dorchester, in the county of Suiioll; and State of lllassachusetts, have invented certain new'and useful Improvements in Time- Burning Railway Signal-Fuseeaof which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to improvements in time burning railway signal fusees, of that class which meets the requirements of the bureau for the safe transportation of. explosives and other dangerous articles, which are well-known to those skilled in this art, among which are a composition having a high point of ignition and, consequently, a high burning point, and another-being a composition free from spontaneous ignition under the conditions of usage, transportation and storage; the burning in all of the severe weather conditions; capable of burning under water; the tube must be of suiticiently tough fiber to withstand the severe usage, especially when thrown from a fast moving train; the fusee must burn with force and brilliancy of flame, and the tough fiber tube must be consumed substantially uniformly with the burning of the compound to prevent any appreciable chimneying.

By reason of the requirement for a composition of high ignition and high burning points, fusees containing such compositions have been difficultto light, and to maintaih their burning after being lighted under all of the severe weather conditions to which fusees are at times subjected, as when being hurled from a fast moving train.

The object of this present improvement is to produce a fusee which will meet all of the above enumerated requirements by the bureau for the safe transportation of explosives and other dangerous articles, and

which wil at the same time light more easily, positively and effectively, and which will stand the severe usage to which the fusee is subjected.

The fusee composition generally used-to meet the above enumerated requirements contains perchlorate of potassium and sulfur, and when used intelligently and according to directions is reliable under all the several usages to which the fusee is subjected.

However, when in the hands of railway employees who do not follow instructions and especially that instruction which requires that the fusee be thrown immediately after being lighted (5l0 seconds after lighting), the failure to observe these instructions has been the cause of occasional extinguishment of the fuses.

Another object of my present invention is to so construct the fusee as to allow greater scope in time of throwing the fusee from a fast moving train after ignition and without liability of extinguishing it under all w other conditions to which it is liable to be subjected. v

In the accon'ipanying drawingsl*igure l is a side elevation, partially in section, of a crimped end fusee with my improvement applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing an open end fusee tube with my improvement applied thereto.

in carrying out my invention, 1 is the usual paper tube made of tough fiber, and 2 is the :t'usec coml'iosition which is of a pctassiun'l perchlorate mixture, such for instance, as that described and claimed in my Patent No. 95%,330, dated April 5th 191i), which CQIHPOSlilOll, as here showndoes not completely till the lighting en 3, of the fusee tube.

My present. improvement consists in tilling the lighting end S of the fusce tube with a. charge 4, which is of relatively lower ignition and burning points, whereby it is readily ignited, and this charge or composi tion 4 consists of chlorate ot 'iotassium, metallic nitrate, carbohydrates, and hydro carbons, preferably greased sawdust, shellac or its substitutes, but does not contain any sulfur, thus constituting a sulturless charge: The usual chlorate scratch or igniting composition 5 extends from outside the tube 1 and down into the igniting charge at, and this scratch or chlorate chargefi may be united to the other charges within the fusee in any suitable manner. As here shown, a chemicallyv treated peg 6 is used for that purpose. The igniting charge t beingof a sulfurless character, there is no generation of sulfuric or sulfurous acids to act upon the chlorate 5, and there is thus no tendency to spoiitaneous ignition between the chlorate scratch compounds and the sulfurless igniting compound 4.

' The fusee compound proper 2, before referred to, contains sulfur and perchlorate; and in order to separate the chlorate composition 4, from the composition 2, a separating stratum 7 is provided, which is composed of any combustible medium, (preferably a composition containing metallic ni trate, potassium perchlorate, carbohydrate and shellac or its substitutes) upon which sulfuric or sulfurous acid that may be generated within the compound 2 will not at. The sulfurless lighting charge will "occupy from one to two inches of the length'of the fusee, one inch being found sufficient to prevent the extinguishment of the fusee when it is hurled from a fast moving train under the most-serere weather conditions and is found to certainly and effectively ignite the fusee composition 2, which is of higher ignition and burning points than the igniting charge 4. Furthermore, the sulfur-less charge 4, does not so quickly or readily eonsume the tough fiber tube as does the sulfur fusee composition 2, and by reason of this fact the compositions within the tube have the protection thereof for a longer period of time while being held in the hand of the user, or after it is thrown from the rapidly moving train which, as will be seen, allows a much greater scope of time on the part of the user to throw the fusee than is allowed when the fusce composition extends to the end of the fusee tube, and thus requires much less exactness in the use of the fusee, and yet obtain certainty and effectiveness of operation.

In Fig. 2 the scratch composition fills the. end of the open tube 1. and covers the sulfurless igniting compound 1. In this instance a uniting peg (3 is used to unite the c'om 'msitions and to hold them together. The operation and function of the construction siown in'Fig.- 2 is the same as that shown in Fig. I

The sulfurless ehlorate coi'uposition t ignites very readily and will maintain its burning under severe shock and severe weather conditions, and a fuse'e constructed as herein shown and describedwill have all of the advantages of the fusee which contains the well-known perchlorate composit on, and yet have the advantageousfeatures of being readily ignited and in requiring less skill and care in operation, and more certainty in operation under all of the severe conditions. to which railway. time burning signal fusees are known at times to be subjected to.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patcut is:

1. An improved time burning railway signal fusee, comprising an elongated c0mbustible tube, a fusee composition therein including sulfur perchlorate and a coloring ingredient, and achlorate sulfurless -'lighting charge containing a coloring ingredient corresponding with the coloring ingredient of the adjacent fusee composition combined for the purpose described.

2. An improved railway time burning signal fuseecomprisinga combustible tube, a time burning fusee composition within the tube and containing sulfur. and perchlorate, a lighting charge withinand at the lighting end of the tube comprising chlorate of potassium, metallic nitrate, carbohydrate or hydrocarbon, shellac or its substitutes, and an exposed scratch composition in contact with the said lighting composition.

3. An improved railway time burning signal fusee comprising a combustible tube, a time burning signal compound within the tube and containing sulfur and perchlorate, a lighting charge Within and at the lighting end of the tube containing chlorate of potassium,-.hydrocarbon, carbohydrate, me tallic nitrate, shellac or its substitutes, a separating medium undecomposable by acids located between the lighting charge and the fusee. compound, and an exposed scratch com-- position in contact with the lighting charge.

Intestimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ISADORE NIDITCH. 

